Why hasn’t PM Modi suspended BJP leader who spoke of Constitution change: Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar questioned why the Prime Minister has not suspended the Lok Sabha MP who claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will change the Constitution if it wins more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

“We have a Constitution. Honourable MP Anantkumar Hegde said that they (BJP) will change the Constitution if they win 400 seats. I do not understand. PM Modi has said that, at any cost, he will not change the Constitution. I welcome it. But why has he (PM Modi) not expelled that Parliament member or whoever the party functionary is, who announced that they are going to change the Constitution?” Shivakumar said speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of Congress snatching away ‘mangalsutra’, Shivakumar said that gold prices increased from Rs 26,000 to Rs 75,000 during the BJP government. “When he (PM Modi) came to power in 2014, gold price was Rs 26,000-27,000. Today, gold price is Rs 70,000-75,000. I don’t know who has snatched ‘mangalsutra’. It is a ridiculous statement that PM Modi has given”, the Congress leader said.

#WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar says, "BJP government also made a lot of promises. They said that they would double the income of the farmers, bring back the black money, give employment… But they did not give employment… Now, whatever we… pic.twitter.com/aDdYublpHv

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On PM Modi’s claim of doubling farmers’ income, Shivakumar claimed that the Congress waived loans of farmers when it was in power. “They (BJP) had promised that they would double the income. I would like to ask where the income has doubled. They promised to waive the loans of the farmers. We waived the loans of the farmers when our coalition government was there and Manmohan Singh was there”, he said.

Pointing out the massive level of unemployment in the country, Shivakumar said that 60 lakh candidates filled up applications for 60,000 vacancies. “For 60,000 posts, more than 60 lakh people applied. It shows that this is a very great unemployment problem. Your boys are coming to Bengaluru and other parts of the country looking for jobs. We are providing them with lucrative jobs”, he said.

Voting for 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka was held in two phases. While 14 seats were polled on April 26, the remaining 14 voted on May 7. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4. In the 2019 elections, the BJP almost swept the state by winning 25 out of 28 seats. While Congress and JD(S), who were in coalition in the state government, could only win one seat each. (ANI)